An attempt to describe the swelling of U3Si 2 fuel by a simple formula

Abstract Fuel swelling is a key parameter to be studied in the process of qualifying a fuel for use in reactors. Generally, test irradiations are performed to quantify the swelling. However, all reactor conditions can often not be simulated in tests. This situation occurs, for example, when a fuel shall be used in a new reactor where the fission rate is higher than in existing reactors available for the qualification tests. The swelling under the conditions of the new reactor must be predicted based on the data found under these test conditions. For this prediction a formula is required. Such a formula is derived for one of the most popular fuels for high flux reactors: U 3 Si 2 .